Lena Dunham on the Scariest Thing She's Done on TV

ELLE's February cover girl started the week at the Golden Globes, where Girls was nominated for Best Comedy Series and Dunham herself was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. That same night, Girls' fourth season premiered, and while Dunham didn't make headlines with a Golden Globes win, she certainly earned some column inches (and triggered countless dropped jaws) when the episode aired, thanks to that Allison Williamssex scene.

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Though viewers may have been shocked, Dunham's never in it for shock value. "I hope that Girls reflects an accurate version of the 20-something experience and that it shows women in as messy and complex a light as men have been allowed to be portrayed for ages," she told ELLE on the red carpet at last night's Women in Television event. "Lena and our writers would never, ever make us do anything that didn't serve the purpose of the story," Girls starZosia Mamet confirmed to Vulture. "So whenever she writes something that's uncomfortable or scary, we just roll up our sleeves and we can't wait to do it for her and for our show."

As for Dunham, the most uncomfortable, scariest thing to do on TV involves no nudity or sex. "I think the hardest thing to do on camera is to act like you're in love with someone," she said. "That's a very vulnerable position to put yourself in. And I've forced all of us to do it."